Education System in the Russian Federation
Russian Federation education system has proved itself over the years as one of the most developed and advanced, which combines strong traditions with adaptability to changes in the world.
The education in the Russian Federations stands under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
According to information from the Ministry of Education and Science RF all educational programmes are of two levels:
- General education
- Professional education
General education comprises 3 stages corresponding to the level of education:
- Primary general education (duration 4 years);
- Basic general education (duration 5 years);
- Secondary (complete) general education (duration 2 to 3 years).
General education is compulsory and free.
Professional education in the Russian Federation is aimed at acquiring professional skills to further exercise a profession. Professional education covers the following:
- vocational education (nachalnoe professionalnoe obrazovanie);
- non-university level higher education (srednee professionalnoe obrazovanie);
- university level higher education (vysshee professionalnoe obrazovanie);
- postgraduate education including doctoral study programmes (poslevuzovskoe professionalnoe obrazovanie).
Higher Education in the Russian Federation
According to information from the Federal Service of Supervision in the Sphere of Science and Education, there are three types of higher learning institutions:
-Academy (offers narrow range of professions, usually within 1 industry)
-University (covers numerous professions within numerous fields)
-Institution (conducts an extensive research recognized at a certain level).
There are also two types of educational institution ownership:
- State
- Private (founded by legal entities or natural person)
All accredited educational institutions irrespective of their form of ownership have equal rights to issue state-recognized degree certificates and to grant draft deferments.
Russian Higher Education system has undergone major changes in the recent past to stay in line with other European Higher Learning Institutions. Russia is one of the 47 countries from Europe and Asia to join the Bologna process aimed at pursuing the goals of European Higher Education studies. Thanks to this changes, students from Bologna process participant countries can easily be accepted to universities all around Europe or continue their education in the country of their choice.
At the same time Russia has not abandoned the old model of education and still offers traditional specialist degree along with European bachelors or masters degree.
Therefore, Russian higher education offers a multi-level structure. At the moment there are 3 stages of Higher Professional Education:
1. Bachelors Degree/Bakalavr Diploma (at least 4 years)
2. Specialist Degree/ Specialist Diploma (5-6 years of study)
3. Masters degree/ Magistr Diploma (at least 6 years of study)
On receiving Specialist or Masters Degree it is possible to continue postgraduate studies, which also has 2 levels:
1. Aspirantura (graduate school, internship, residency, etc) is the lower level of postgraduate studies leading to Candidate of Science Degree
2. Doctorantura (doctoral studies) is the higher level of doctoral studies leading to Doctor of Science degree
How to join a Russian university to study on contract
To join a university of choice, a student must contact the enrolling board of the university and request for the enrollment requirements of the university and also the cost of educational courses.
Generally the universities request the following set of documents:
- A copy of the national passport
- A copy of the certificate of secondary education with grades and subjects taken
- A properly filled application form (could be forwarded by the enrolling board officers)
After the university is satisfied that the applicant meets all the requirements and can be enrolled in the university, the university issues an official invitation which allows the student to get Russian visa. Only the university of future studies can issue the invitation for a valid student visa.
Visa is generally issued within 3-5 weeks and costs around 40 USD. The applicant gets student visa which is renewed yearly by the universities.
What is Russian government scholarship?
Russian government offers up to 10 000 places for foreign students to study in Russian Higher Learning Institutions at the expense of the federal Government. The objective of admitting foreign students in Russian universities is to assist foreign states prepare highly qualified national human resources on the basis of the International treaties of the Russian Federation. On average, Kenya receives around 30 scholarships annually.
Russian government scholarship means that a student gets:
- free education
- monthly stipend (around 40 USD)
- subsidized accommodation at the university’s dormitory
- assistance in getting Russian student visa
Russian government scholarship student is expected to pay for:
- a ticket to the city of studies
- insurance fee (250 USD)
- his/her monthly upkeep
How to apply for Russian government scholarship?
A Kenyan student can apply for undergraduate or postgraduate studies to the Russian Federation online through the official website: https://russia.study/en